Washington DC - Immigrants' rights advocates have denounced the Trump administration's Thursday decision to revoke an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it was vacating the TPS extension and that protections would end on August 3 of this year, a move expected to impact around half a million people.

TPS is a temporary legal status for nationals of designated countries already residing in the US when conditions like political turmoil, armed conflicts, and natural disasters prevent their safe return.

Last June, the Biden administration re-designated and extended TPS for Haitian nationals through February 3, 2026.

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The Trump administration is now attempting to undo that decision as part of its wider agenda of mass detentions and deportations. It follows the Republican president's repeated racist conspiracies targeting Haitian migrants on the 2024 campaign trail.

"This is truly cold-blooded, even for this lawless administration. Ripping away this humanitarian relief and placing hundreds of thousands of people in danger of deportation back to a country that has been torn apart by violence, lawlessness and instability – how can they live with themselves? They know these migrants cannot safely return to Haiti," National TPS Alliance spokesperson and coordinator José Palma said in a press release.

The announcement came the same day immigrants' rights advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the administration's bid to revoke a TPS extension for Venezuela.

"We won’t stop fighting on behalf of Venezuelans, Haitians and every one of the nearly one million TPSanos whose safety and futures are at risk," Palma insisted.

"The United States has brought shame to itself by turning its back on immigrants in danger. Haitians like any other TPS holders are our neighbors and deserve the opportunity to thrive in this Country."